Tennis-net.



PATENTED FEB J. G. GHAPIN. TENNIS NET.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 3, 190a INVENTOR WITNESSES THE uonms PEYxRs co.. wasnmurou, o. c.

JAMES C. CI-IAPIN, OF ENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY.

TENNIS-NET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 5, 1907.

Application filed November 3, 1906. Serial No. 341,902.

Be it known that I, JAMES C. Cnrxrrx, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Engiewood, county of Bergen, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'I ennis- Nets, of which the following is a specificatitn, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to improvements in tennis-nets, and consists in a tennis-net having its lower portion so constructed as to permit tennis-balls to pass freely therethrough.

In tennis as it is ordinarily played it is quite advantageous to allow balls to pass freely beneath the net, so that between plays balls may be returned from one court to the other. If, however, the not be made so as to leave an open space between the lower edge thereof and the ground for this purpose, it has been found that two serious objections result, first, it is difficult to always tell with certainty as to whether the ball has passed over or under the net; sicond, the player is apt to be deceived as to the position of the net, as viewed from a short distance the lower end of the not would appear to be dir .1 ly on the ground and a farther distance away from the player than it really is. This would not on ly give the illusion of a net at a greater distanre, but also of a lower net, because the height of the lower edge of the net from the ground would lTC gaged only from the width of the net. flo overcome these objections, I have provided the lower end of the net with a portion which will 3 ield to allow the passage of tennis-he ls therethrough, which portion may ctmveniently he a fringe of loose pendent threads. In this way the movements of the threads when a ball passes through will indicate clearly that the hall has passed beneath and not over the net, while the presence of the threads will act as a continuation of the net, so far as the sight is concerned, so as to prevent the illusion referred. to,

In order that my invention may be fully understood, I will now proceed to describe in detail an embodiment thereof, having reference to the accompanying drawings, illustrating same, and will then point out the novel features in claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a tennis-court and tennis-net thereon, su h net constituting an embodiment of my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a part of a net of slightly-modilied form, and I ig. 3 is a fragmentary view of a portion of a net of still further modified form.

In Fig. 1 the not will be seen to comprise a main body portion 5 and a supplemental lower fringe-like portion 6. In this embodiment of my invention the main body portion 5, which may be of the usual or any desired form and material, extends for a distance of about two-thirds of the entire height from the ground, while the supplemental fringelilze portion occupies the remaining one-third. The exact proportions are, however, entirely immaterial, and the supplemental portion may occupy a greater or less proportion of the whole, as may be desired. The supplemental portion 6 preferably comprises a fringe of loose pendent threads, which will freely yield, as will be readily understood, to permit passage therethrough of tennis-balls. The lower ends of the threads of this fringe may be disconnected, if desired, or may be connected, as is shown in the fragmentary view, Fig. 3, a cord 7 in this case forming a means for connecting the lowermost ends of the fringe-threads together. In either case the individual threads are loose in the sense that they will readily yield to permit the passage of tennis-balls past them, but will norin ally hang down to form a screen.

In Fig. 2 I have shown the main portion of the net as extending practically to the round at the posts and atthe center of the net. I have shown this as illustrative of another form of not from that shown in Fig. 1. for the reason that I wish it to he understood that the specific form of net is not of any particular moment, the feature of the invention being providing a yielding barrier at the lower portion of the net to permit the passage of balls without particular regard to the form, shape, configuration, material, and the like of the not itself.

What I claim is- 1. A tennis-net having its upper part composed of netting and its lower part of loose pendent threads.

2. A tennis-net having a part composed of woven threads to form a network, and another part of free or unwoven threads.

3. A tennis-net having an upper portion through of tennis-balls, and a supplemental to which Will prevent the passage of tennis-balls 1 lower portion of 'loose threads Which Will therethrough, and a lower portion which will spread to permit the passage therethrough of yield to permit the passage therethrough of such balls.

5 such balls. 1

4. A tennis-net composed in part of a JAMES CHAPIN' fringe of loose pendent threads. Witnesses:

5. A tennis-net having a main body por- D. HOWARD HAYWOOD, tion which Will prevent the passage therei LYMAN S. ANDREWS, Jr. 

